What is a genome? Find out here – it’s fun!

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If you work in genomics you will know what a genome is – and how genome sequencing works. But for people who don’t work in genetics it can be very confusing!

Luckily there are some great resources around to help members of the public and even children get to grips with all this, so check out the Genomics England website for eye-catching, easy-to-follow infographics and videos, including this one below from Great Ormond Street Hospital – click on the image to go straight to the video on YouTube or visit Genomics England.

It has long been known that some animals can regrow their tails following amputation – Aristotle observed this in the fourth century B.C. – but the mechanisms that support such regenerative potential remain poorly understood. Using ‘single-cell genomics’, scientists at the Wellcome Trust/ Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge developed […]

Scientists have known for several years that genes can influence a person’s weight. One of the genes that is known to play a key role in regulating weight is MC4R, which codes for the melanocortin 4 receptor. This receptor acts like a switch in the brain to suppress appetite. People who have genetic variants that […]

A team of academics from the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, observed the courtship rituals and sequenced the DNA from nearly 300 butterflies to find out how much of the genome was responsible for their mating behaviour. The research, published in PLOS Biology, is one of […]